Space for Ideas: Winners Revealed

At the start of the summer we launched a global competition to find the next big ideas. The prize: a flagship store in London, Paris and New York. Plus, the funds, mentorship and support from a leading design agency to help three new designers, makers, entrepreneurs or artists brings their ideas to life. With over 1500 entries, our judges had a tough time picking the winners. But the results are in.

All brands need to start somewhere, and at Appear Here, we believe that when the right idea hits the right space at the right time, great things can happen. We’re excited to see our winners unlock their space, start a new journey, and create something incredible. So, let’s meet the winning ideas…

London: Aerende by Emily Mathieson

Aerende was founded in 2016 by Emily Mathieson, a former travel editor for The Guardian, Condé Nast Traveller and Red. A passion for beautiful, useful, locally made homewares led her to question the lack of high-quality options in the ethical interiors sector. So she began a quest to create a model for considerate, socially conscious shopping without compromising on quality and style.

Currently, Aerende operates as an online shop selling beautiful products for your home, all of which are made in the UK by people facing social challenges. It’s a special place to find a range of carefully crafted products from around the British Isles. The makers range from refugees to prisoners, to adults with learning disabilities who want to challenge the stigma and culture of low expectations around their skills.

Emily’s vision is to create a collaborative space, not just for her own brand but a showpiece for what marginalised people can create when given an opportunity. She’ll be appearing at The Blue Boutique off Park Street next to Borough Market.

Ten years ago, Matthieu and Paul met while studying at a prestigious Parisian arts school. Besides their love for illustration in all its forms, they quickly found themselves a more addictive mutual passion: chocolate. Rejected from France’s famous “Club des Croqueurs de Chocolat”, they decided to start their own gang for cocoa lovers. Our two budding chocolate makers met Vincent, who soon became the trio's third and last fellow. After much research, they invited over 50 artists – among them Edith Caron, Maud Begon and Marie Assénet – to illustrate their bars, and Le Chocolat des Francais was born.

Their vision for the store is to mix both art and confectionary within a beautiful space, showcasing their tasty and beautifully designed chocolates. As well as being able to sample the 100% pure cocoa butter chocolate, shoppers will be able to take part in live painting sessions based on original artwork from the talented illustrators behind the packaging.

Founded by designer and entrepreneur, Filippo Yacob, Primo Toys was inspired by the birth of his son. The idea was to create a toy that children around the world could use to learn computer programming without screens or literacy. So he created Cubetto, a friendly wooden robot toy powered by touch, allowing children to learn and explore real programming through storytelling and hands-on play.

While being the most crowdfunded edtech invention in Kickstarter history, raising $2.4m from backers in 100+ countries, this will be Primo Toys’ first store in New York. The space will be filled with hands-on coding stations, the colourful Cubetto Playset, and child-sized tables created with Open Desk.

Primo Toys will be making their first foray into New York appearing at The White Brick Boutique in the heart of the West Village.